Always There For You
by Do Me Malfoy
Summary: Hearts are broken, tears are shed, and Draco Malfoy wants to snog a certain Head Girl named Hermione senseless. The problem? She's going out with Ron. But not if Draco can help it. Please R&R!
1. Eyeshadow Isn't All That Bad

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling! Only a select few characters I have made up, but none of them are major characters in this story.**

**A/N: This is a very sweet fic with many twists and turns and believe me...the plot thickens towards the end! There are some funny parts so please--laugh! The pairings get mixed up a bit, so right now there are no "concrete pairings" that I am sticking to. thnx!**

**Diana**

**R&R! I will review back and give you feedback in my next update.**

**Chapter 1: Eyeshadow Isn't All That Bad**

"Virginia Weasley, what on earth are you wearing?!" cried out a very distressed Mrs. Weasley. She had on her apron and was wiping some grease off her hands on it.

"Ummmmmm...," Ginny said as she bit her lip and poked at her breakfast with her fork which consisted of greasy bacon and buttered toast.

She had worn make-up for the first time ever that morning and had eyeliner smudged beneath her eyes, messy eyeshadow, and loads of mascara on her eyelashes. Even _she_ thought it looked very unprofessionally done, but she thought it would "pass for a first try."

She blinked a couple of times blankly as if she was thinking of something to say. Her brothers were all at the table snickering at her and whispering foul things about her to each other. All Ginny did was pause her poking-of-her-breakfast and gave them a glare.

"Well?" demanded Mrs. Weasley placing her hands on her hips in an I-want-an-answer-young-lady sort of way.

"Mum, I'm in sixth year and I'm already 16 years old, so why can't I have just a bit of make up on for once?" Ginny complained, putting her fork down. She thought it was completely unfair that the other girls in her year wore make up but she couldn't. After all, she _was_ 16, a very mature age that deserves to wear make up.

"Even Hermione started wearing make up when she was 16. Think about it, Mum--HERMIONE!!"

"Hermione does not have the same parents you do," Mrs. Weasley said flatly. "I want you to go straight to your bathroom and wash that rubbish off your face immediately." She took up all the plates on the table as Ginny's brothers continued to snicker at her.

"Oh, come on Mum! Ginny's right, she _should_ be able to wear make up!" Fred spoke up in an almost joking way, "to cover up that hideous face from all her boyfriends!" he added as a roar of laughter arose from the table of red-headed Weasleys.

Mrs. Weasley ignored this cruel joke and looked completely shocked at the thought of Ginny having a boyfriend.

"Is this true, Ginny? You're...dating?"

Ginny gave the most threatening look she could at Fred and her brothers.

"Of course I'm dating Mum, where have you been for the past three years of my life!"

"Oh yes, Mum, let me see...there was Michael, Colin, Derrick, Adam, Steven...," Ron teased counting off all the boyfriends Ginny had ever had on his fingers, "...and the list goes on!"

"Virginia Molly Weasley! Since when have I said you were allowed to date?" Mrs. Weasley said frowning. Ginny hated it when her mother used her full name like that. All it meant was that she was in big trouble.

"Oh come now, Molly, you were dating by Ginny's age weren't you?" asked Mr. Weasley looking up from his _Daily Prophet _he had been reading. "Come to think of it, I think we were dating each other our sixth year!" he said giving a playful grin. Mrs. Weasley blushed as she narrowed her eyes towards her husband.

"Well, that doesn't matter," she said quickly. "but I guess since you are now 16 years of age you are allowed to date."

Ginny let out a sigh of relief.

"But without that hideous eyeshadow," Mrs. Weasley added. Ginny let out a groan.

"Okay fine, Mum, whatever you say," she muttered getting up from the table to go upstairs to her bathroom and wash off the eyeshadow she had so carefully applied.

Ginny walked into the bathroom and looked at herself intently in the mirror. She was wearing a red tank top with capris and matching red flip flops. Her shirt was rather tight-fitting but she liked it like that since she had finally "developed". She wouldn't have dare worn such a thing in her previous years when all the other girls had actual boobs that the guys like to ogle at, and she was well...a pancake. A very flat one.

But still, she didn't know why she did it. She knew she didn't wear make up just to look pretty. Her appearance never really bothered her. But now, it was the beginning of her sixth year and like she said--nearly all the girls in sixth year wore make up. But why? she asked herself. She wasn't doing it for herself, but for someone else. Someone who made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Someone who had always been there whenever she needed him. Someone who she had a crush on since first year. Someone who she couldn't forget. Someone like...

"Harry Potter," she said quietly, looking at herself in the mirror of her bathroom.

"Harry-Bloody-Potter," she said again quietly.

She somehow hated him and loved him all at the same time. Ever since Cho-Bloody-Chang ever showed up into his life and stole her Harry away from him. Cho had stolen the only thing Ginny had ever loved that way before. But now she had heard from Ron that Cho and Harry had broken up over the summer...

She let out a sigh as she wiped the eyeshadow from her eyelids.

"Come on, Ginny, you're going to be late for the train!" called her mom from downstairs.

"I'm coming already!" Ginny called back. She patted on some blush to her cheeks before grabbing her luggage and running down the stairs quickly. Hopefully her mum wouldn't notice.

She arrived downstairs with all her things and saw her dad and Ron by the door ready to leave. Her brothers were still at the table discussing some business-like things. Fred and George were still in the joke-shop business while Bill and Charlie were always out and about somewhere doing top secret things sometimes for the Order. Ginny was the youngest and she and Ron were the only Weasleys left now who attended Hogwarts.

"Don't forget, Dad, we have to pick Harry up on our way to the station," Ron said, hauling his suitcase to the front door.

"Oh, that's right! Get into the car then, and we'll be off," Mr. Weasley said cheerfully as he muttered "Accio keys." A jingling ring of keys floated towards him and he took a minute to pick out the right one for the car.

Ginny and Ron gave their mom a big hug and said their goodbyes as Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie all waved with last-minute shouts of "Behave at Hogwarts!" and "Tell Dumbledore I said hey!"

Soon the door closed behind the three of them and they all piled into Mr. Weasley's new red car he had bought from an old Muggle "used-cars" shop.

"It's nice to see you again, Harry!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley as he honked the horn in front of the Dursleys' home on Privet Drive.

Harry rushed out of the house struggling with all his luggage and not to mention Hedwig's cage and almost slammed the door shut, happy to leave the house that was hell for him. He waved when he saw Ron and Ginny in the car which made Ginny smile shyly.

"God, he's gorgeous," she thought to herself. "What was I thinking going out with people like Michael Corner?!"

Mr. Weasley got out of the car to help load all of Harry's stuff into the trunk. Harry opened the back door and climbed in the car and sat opposite of Ginny.

"Hey, Ginny! I haven't seen you in a while," Harry said as he smiled warmly at her. "You look nice today."

Ginny blushed madly. "Thanks," she said quietly. She wanted to hit herself hard in the head with a very heavy rock. She sounded and was acting just like she was when she first saw Harry in her first year! She moved her eyes from him down to her hands, embarassed that she acted like a six-year-old near him.

"'Ey Harry, do you want a Chocolate Frog? Compliments of Fred and George," Ron said as he passed some Chocolate Frogs back to Harry.

Ginny was staring at Harry without even knowing it. She saw the way his messy black hair complimented his warm green eyes. She saw his muscles and almost fainted....

"So hot...," she said out loud without thinking. Harry looked at her with one raised eyebrow as Ginny was quickly thinking of something to say to cover up.

"I mean...it's so hot for August! I'm burning up here, Dad! Turn on that thing that Muggles use that makes the car all nice and cool in the summer," Ginny said relieved when Harry turned his attention back to his Chocolate Frog.

"Ignatia Wildsmith, the witch who invented Floo powder," Harry read to himself off his Chocolate Frog Card. "This is the first time I've ever heard of her. What about you, Ron?"

"Yeh, I've got three of her at my house!"

"Of course you do, Ron," Ginny said rolling her eyes. "You've bugged Fred and George to send you all the Chocolate Frog Cards you don't have from their joke shop!"

"It's not just a joke shop, Ginny, it's also a _candy_ shop," said Ron smugly.

"Ugh whatever," Ginny said quite annoyed by her brother. "Anyway. Harry, I've heard that you were _this_ close to becoming the Head Boy this year!"

"Oh...yeah," Harry said quietly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way! I mean...Draco's dad probably bribed McGonagall or Dumbledore into letting him be the Head Boy. It makes me want to gag," said Ginny.

"Haha, yeah he probably did bribe..." Harry said laughing at what Ginny said. "The filthy git."

"Well, Hermione is quite ecstatic about being the Head Girl, I'm sure," added Ginny.

"Yeah," said Ron, "and she only sent me 17 owls in total explaining her bliss! Not so bad after the 19 owls I got from her in our 5th year when we were made prefects!" he added sarcastically. Ron and Hermione had been dating each other since their 6th year and Hermione had flooded Ron with owls explaining every single detail of her summer vacation.

"Haha, yup, that's our 'Mione all right," Harry said laughing.

"Hey, _I'm_ the only one that's allowed to call her that!" Ron said defendantly. "She even said so herself."

"Oh, and so I suppose she calls you Ronniekins then?" Harry asked. Ron's ears turned pink and he turned the other way towards the window.

Ginny leaned over towards Harry and whispered, "Yeah, she does call him that sometimes." Harry and Ginny shared a small chuckle as Ron looked back at them rather menacingly.

With Hermione as Head Girl, and Draco as Head Boy, Ginny, Harry, and Ron all knew that it was going to be a very, very interesting year.

**Please review and tell me your thoughts on what I should add, erase, etc. it really helps me a lot. Constructive criticism is never bad!!:) SO REVIEW NOW!!!!!!!! **


	2. It Wasn't A Snogging Session!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling! Only a select few characters I have made up, but none of them are major characters in this story.**

**A/N: Please read and review!**

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**Chapter 2: It Wasn't A Snogging Session!**

"Bye Dad!" Ron and Ginny said in unison as they both hopped onto the familiar fiery-red Hogwarts Express.

"Bye Mr. Weasley, and thanks for the lift!" Harry said waving at the red-haired father who was also smiling and waving back. He also stepped onto the train.

The station was filled with swarms of people, kids, and families saying their last goodbyes. A handful of nervous first-years were embracing their parents rather tightly as if they did not want to go to Hogwarts. A few Muggle couples looked around cautiously at all the cages of owls, suitcases full of magical spellbooks, hats, wands, and the many other magical items that students were bringing along; they were even more anxious about Hogwarts than their children were.

Amidst all these fretful people, Ron, Ginny, and Harry were on the train now, looking for an empty compartment to sit in.

"Hey you guys!" exclaimed a familiar voice. Hermione was waving to them excitedly near the back of the train where most of the seventh years were.

Hermione had gotten a special compartment because she was the Head Girl this year. The three of them walked in and were very surprised to see highly cushioned seats, pillows, and even a Chocolate Frog vending machine in the corner of the compartment. The room was decorated with the Gryffindor colors--scarlet and gold--and had a very warm and welcome feel to it. This compartment was most certainly more spacious than all the others, and even had scarlet carpet lining the floor.

Ginny saw Hermione and felt a tiny stab of green-tipped jealousy. Hermione looked drop-dead gorgeous. Her sandy brown curls looked so soft and elegant as they bounced around and framed her face perfectly. She had on a flattering white lace top with a cute jean skirt. And since when had Miss Perfect Little Granger found some fashion sense? Ginny mused to herself.

Nevertheless, she happily plopped into the cushiony seat in front of Hermione as Ron sat beside Hermione. Ron had obviously noticed the changes too as he gave her a big grin and a tight hug. The couple started to kiss rather passionately right in front of Ginny and Harry, causing the two to be in a very awkward position. They glanced at each other for a second and quickly broke their gaze again.

"Er--guys," Harry started after a long silence. The two broke off immediately.

"Oh, haha silly me! I completely forgot you two were there. Here, Ron, let's make our way out and get some privacy," Hermione said, emphasizing the last word.

"Of course," Ron grinned, following Hermione as she grabbed his hand and led the way out of the compartment.

Harry and Ginny both let out a sigh of relief only to find themselves laughing hysterically seconds after the two left.

"Did you see that? They really gave their tongues a work out!" Ginny said, almost in tears of laughter.

"Yeah, they were really at it," Harry said laughing also.

"I thought it would never-," Ginny was stopped when she saw Harry's eyes glued to hers. "end." she finished her sentence almost inaudibly.

Ohmygod, she thought. Her heart was beating rapidly and it was as if time just froze right then and there. She just wanted to melt right in her seat. Harry's warm emerald eyes seemed to have a certain sparkle in them as he edged closer to Ginny. His hand slithered across his seat and found hers and Ginny interlaced her fingers with his almost subconsciously. Their faces were very close now, just a hair apart. He closed her eyes and she did the same and Ginny could feel his warm breath on her face. Her hand then slid around his neck just as their soft lips touched...

_BOOM!_

"Potter and Weasley--who would've thought?" came a sneering voice. Ginny and Harry quickly tore apart. Both of their hearts were almost hurting with longing and lust. But for now, they were more pissed than hurt.

Draco Malfoy, Prat of the Century, was standing in their compartment door with a disgusting smirk on his face.

"Go away, Malfoy," Harry said angrily. "Go and find yourself another compartment."

"Oh, actually, I already have one. Being the Head Boy certainly has its advantages," Draco's slimy voice said. "Mine's right across from yours. Luckily, it doesn't have the nauseating Gryffindor colors but the more brilliant Slytherin's. Those decorators are so thoughtful," Draco said nonchalantly as he took a look at his nails, buffing them a bit.

Ginny and Harry were both digusted. Harry got up angrily to slam the door in Draco's face, but luckily Draco avoided this by quickly leaving and entering his own compartment. He slammed the door anyway and plopped back down on his cushiony seat beside Ginny with a frustrated look on his face.

"That slimy, evil, bastard," Ginny fumed. "He had no right to barge in on us like that!"

"He's probably told the whole Slytherin house about our snogging session," Harry said angrily. "Great."

Ginny blushed as Harry referred back to their "snogging session". It wasn't even snogging, their lips had barely touched. Then her eyes widened as she thought of what everyone would think when they heard that she and Harry had been caught "kissing". She began to mutter all the bad words she could ever call Draco just when a dissheveled Ron and Hermione entered the compartment.

Ron's hair was messy and bits of it was sticking up. Ginny guessed that the two had another passionate snog-a-thon. Hermione was happy, bouncy, and cheerful like she usually was. She sat down on the compartment and smiled sheepishly at Ginny and Harry.

"So, I've heard that you two were having a great time in here!" Hermione said.

_Stupid bloody git, that Malfoy, _Ginny thought. _Draco-Bloody-Malfoy._

"Oh, who says?" Ginny demanded childishly.

"Oh come on, Ginny, once Lavender and Parvati hear something, they can't keep their mouths shut. Especially if it's something about a snogging session!"

"It _wasn't_ a snogging session!" snapped Ginny. Her face felt hot and she knew it was probably as red as a tomato. She couldn't bare to look up at Harry who had gotten very quiet.

"Yeah, sure," Ron said, smiling broadly. He was glad that his little sister had finally found someone decent to have a crush on.

"Well, I hate to leave you guys but I have some things I have to take care of, being Head Girl you know," she winked at her friends. She quickly reapplied some of her lip gloss and hurried out of the compartment.

Draco plopped down onto the comfy seat of his new, spacious compartment. He closed his eyes and thought of her. She was more than beautiful, she was amazing, breath-taking. Who would have thought? Hermione Granger, the new Aphrodite of the Seventh Year class. In just a year she had transformed into a blossoming flower of youth, full of radiance and beauty. He wanted her. More than anything else.

Just then, the door of his compartment was opened and in came two girls, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.

"Draco!" squealed Pansy as she lunged towards him, wrapping her arms around him. "Sweety, I can't believe you've been made Head Boy!"

Draco sighed as he awoke from his daydreaming and patted Pansy on the back. Pansy was pretty, but not as pretty as Hermione. She was just there as a sort of arm-ornament to be seen in public with. Actually, Pansy annoyed the hell out of him.

"Of course it's believable, Pansy. It's me, Draco Malfoy, only the handsomest, cleverest person in the entire school," Draco said.

"Hmm, well we were worried about that Potter boy getting the position instead," Blaise said, twirling one of her shiny raven-colored locks around her finger. She was one of the few girls in Slytherin who actually had some intelligence, but even that was not a lot. "You know, since he's defeated the Dark Lord numerous times and all that rubbish."

"What can I say, Potter doesn't have the same pureblood qualities as I," Draco said with his familiar air of arrogance.

There came a knock at the door.

"Malfoy?"

The voice was familiar. Bloody hell, it was Hermione! thought Draco.

"Come in, Granger," Draco said, peeling Pansy off him. "Pansy, Blaise: why don't you two go visit some other people while the Head Girl and I discuss some of our duties?"

A pouting Pansy and a suspicious Blaise then left the compartment, bumping into Hermione on purpose on their way out.

Hermione slowly walked into the compartment. She really did not want to be there, but she had to let some of her Head Girl qualities shine through.

"Malfoy, I just wanted to give you my congratulations on being chosen for Head Boy," she said flatly, looking at him. "You know, even though everyone in Gryffindor is talking about how Harry should have been--" She was cut off short as Draco advanced in on her and held her tightly, then forced a long kiss on her lips. Hermione tried to tear away but her strength could not match his.

Just then, two people burst into the compartment.

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**Thank-yous!**

Fleur Sparks: Thanks, and I will keep writing!

katethegreat: lol, Draco was in this chapter so hopefully that quenched some of your Draco-thirst. You'll see much more of him throughout the story though.

John Allerdyce: Thanks soo much!

**Please review and tell me your thoughts on what I should add, erase, etc. it really helps me a lot. Constructive criticism is never bad!!:) SO REVIEW NOW!!!!!!!**


	3. Hermione The Ho?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling! Only a select few characters I have made up, but none of them are major characters in this story.**

**A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers, much love to you all! Please read and REVIEW, it would make me very happy!**

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**Chapter 3: Hermione the Ho**

The compartment door burst open as two boys stormed inside. Draco quickly loosened his grip from Hermione and pushed her away.

"MALFOY WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" a red-haired and rather tall boy bellowed. He grabbed the collar of the Head Boy roughly and bashed him against the wall with such force that Hermione and Harry winced at the sight.

However, the slick, blond-haired boy didn't budge. The corner of his mouth slowly and slightly curved upwards as his face began to show signs of the smug, conceited expression everyone in the room was so used to seeing.

"Just having a little fun, Weasel," he said with no hint of fear or guilt in his voice. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"Yeah, I bloody do have a problem with it, you bloody git," Ron growled through gritted teeth, thrusting him against the wall once more, tightening his grip. Harry tried in vain to stop Ron from going any further. Hermione just stood in the corner, horrified to see her boyfriend so angry. "That's my girlfriend you had your lips all over!"

"Oh, is that so?" Draco said, his expression broadening into a smirk. He kept his eyes on Ron as he spoke. "Well in that case, she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit."

"WHY YOU BLOODY LIAR!" Hermione yelled at him as she advanced in towards him. Harry had to forcefully hold her back. Her face was hot and turned a briliant shade of crimson as her anger errupted.

There was a loud rumble as the entire compartment seemed to shake and then there was a long, sighing creak coming from outside; then the train stopped completely. They had arrived at Hogwarts.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione all looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

"So sorry to leave you like this, but as Head Boy I must leave you to fulfill some of my very important duties," Draco said, shoving Ron away from him violently. "I will see you at the feast, perhaps?" He turned towards Hermione and gave a sickening wink, to which Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust. He straightened out his clothes and left the compartment, his robes billowing after him and he was gone in a flash.

Hermione couldn't believe how incredibly horrible Draco had grown over the summer vacation. She already knew he was horrible, of course, but to the extent of snogging her? No, this was a new sort of horrible. She had a slight nauseating sensation in her stomach.

She clung to Ron for some comfort, and surprisingly, he was silent, only stroking her hair and mumbling a few curses under his breath. He was furious. How could that git Malfoy even touch his Hermione like that? He said she had enjoyed it...No, it was all a lie. Hermione would never play him like that. She loved him and he loved her back and that was that. Malfoy was just being the bloody prat that he always was. He just hoped nothing like that ever happened again, or else surely he would end up in Azkaban for going on a ferret-hunting spree.

"Er," Harry said awkwardly. He didn't look at the caressing couple but instead took an interest in his sneakers. "I better go, Ginny's probably wondering where we are. I'll see you two in the Great Hall." He hastily opened the compartment door just as Hermione stopped him.

"No, go back to the compartment with Ron, I've got to go and meet with the new prefects. I'll see you guys later," she said, tucking a stray strand of curly hair behind her ear. She knew this was an awkward situation for all of them to be in. She was only glad that she had her two best friends to count on no matter where she was. She smiled warmly at them, "And don't worry, I'll be fine."

Harry smiled back as Ron gave her a quick hug and the two headed out of the compartment back to where Ginny was.

Ginny was already getting all her things together to get off the train, and was just putting on her robe. She sighed as they came in. "Ugh, _finally_! Where were you guys? I almost got worried," she said as she put the suitcase she had in her hand down on the floor. "Where's Hermione?"

"Hermione's tending to some Head Girl duties, Gin," Ron said, patting her back and bending down to pick up his belongings. He didn't really want to tell her what had happened. In fact, he didn't want anybody else to know besides him and Harry. "Got everything, Harry?"

"Yeah, er, just a moment--OW!--Hedwig, stop that!" Harry said, struggling with his snowy white owl who was hopping around on Harry's head and pecking him playfully on the ears. He finally got her in her cage and shut it, checked his robes to make sure his wand was still there.

Ginny laughed as she saw Harry struggling with his owl. His hair was messy and unkempt, a messy ruffle of ebony around his fine facial features. He was incredibly dorky, she had to admit, but at the same time so..._sexy_. She mentally slapped herself. _Since when have I gotten so giggly and silly?_ But then again, that incident back in the compartment was playing over and over again in her mind. She shook her head to erase the thought and picked up her suitcase again as the three of them headed off the train along with everyone else.

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The Great Hall was bustling with hundreds of students, chatting excitedly about their summer vacation and embracing the friends they had missed so much over the summer. Harry and Ron went to sit by Neville and Seamus, and they soon started discussing some rather boring details about the latest Quidditch games.

Ginny lost interest rather quickly and decided to move to sit in front of Lavender and Parvati, but they didn't seem to notice her. Instead, they were whispering something to each other and seemed to be looking around for someone, giggling every now and then.

Ginny decided to get their attention as she folded her hands on top of the table. "Ahem," she said clearing her throat. The two girls finally stopped whispering and looked up.

"Ahhhhhh!" Lavender squealed, leaning across the table to give Ginny a tight, squeezing hug. "Ginny, it's so nice to see you!"

Parvati smiled at Ginny and gave her a hug also. She whispered into her ear as they embraced, "So I've heard you and Harry got some...._alone time_ on the way here, eh?" She winked at Ginny as she sat back down.

Ginny's face turned an extraordinary shade of scarlet. _Dammit, they're not going to leave me alone about this for the rest of my life._ She put on a sheepish grin as she said, "Well, you could say that...Is that what you two were whispering about?"

Lavender and Parvati exchanged looks. "Er, no," Lavender replied. "We were talking about how Herm--," she was cut off as a tremendous uproar of laughter arose from their left.

It was the Slytherin table.

Almost everyone at their table seemed to be clutching their stomachs from laughing so hard. Heads all around the Great Hall turned to see what all the commotion was about. Ginny could barely make out a blonde-headed, pointy nosed face in the center of all the noise. _Draco Bloody-ferret Malfoy,_ she thought, disgusted.

He was speaking with a very loud voice for everyone to hear. "So then, Granger comes into my compartment to _congratulate_ me or some rubbish like that, and without warning, pulls me into a most passionate _snog_!" Another wave of laughter came from the many Slytherins listening. All the students in the Great Hall looked at each other in disbelief and started to whisper excitedly to each other.

Ginny's eyes grew wide from shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Hermione kissing _Malfoy_?! She looked over at Harry and Ron to see their expressions, but they seemed more angry than shocked and did not look in her direction. _Did they already know about this? Why the bloody hell didn't they tell me?! _She was up half-way from her seat when the entire Great Hall hushed down to almost a silence.

There was a loud thud as someone closed the entrance to the Hall. Ginny turned to see Hermione walk in with some fifth-year prefects trailing after her. She could see Hermione's face look confused as every single body in the Great Hall watched her come in. She scanned the crowd for her friends at the Gryffindor table. She muttered something to the prefects and they nodded, each going to sit with their according house.

Hermione's face turned slightly red as she came and sat down beside Ginny. Everyone else seemed to start up their conversations again, only this time with more whispering and pointing at Hermione. Some Slytherins were chuckling and smirking, led on by the one and only Draco Malfoy. He really seemed to enjoy what was happening.

"What the bloody hell is going on? Why is everyone looking at me? Why are they whispering?!" Hermione looked to Ginny for an explanation.

"I...don't really know," Ginny started to say when Harry and Ron sat down next to them, Ron putting his arm around Hermione.

"Ron? Harry?" Hermione looked at both her friends. "Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?"

"Hermione...is it true that you..._kissed_ Malfoy?" Ginny said hesitantly.

"_WHAT?!?!?" _Hermione fumed. "I didn't kiss him, he kissed _me_! Didn't Harry or Ron tell you about it?"

Now the two girls looked at the two boys, who looked rather shaken by the whole incident.

"Well, er, you see...," Harry began.

"What Harry's trying to say is that we thought it would be best to not let Ginny know," Ron said. "We thought nobody else should know."

If there was any food Ginny could throw at him, she would have, but unfortunately, the Feast had not begun yet. "But I'm Hermione's _friend_! I have the right to know!"

"So Ginny, you thought that _I _was the one who kissed Malfoy?" Hermioned questioned, more confused by the minute.

"That's what _he _said," she muttered, jerking her head towards the Slytherin table.

Hermione turned around and to her disgust, found Draco Malfoy winking at her and puckering his lips, making nauseating kissing noises.

"Oh that filthy, foul little ferret!" Hermione said, balling up her fists. "If I wasn't the Head Girl, I would put quite a few hexes on that slimy git!"

"So, Hermione, been practicing some of your new ho-techniques over the summer I suppose?" came a voice from behind her. She turned around and to her dismay, saw Pansy standing there in all her cow-like glory, arms crossed with Blaise and Millicent by her side. "Everyone is talking about you and how much of a dirty Mudblood slut you are."

Ginny scoffed, "Well you should know a thing or two about that business."

"Stay out of this, Weasel Junior," Pansy snapped. "I just want Miss Hermione the Ho here that if she lays _one finger _on _my _Draco, she'll have hell to pay." With that she flicked her hair back, with her noise pointed upwards in the arrogant Slytherin custom and returned to her table, leaving Hermione both angry and amused at the same time.

Ron put his arm around Hermione, stroking her arm gently. "Don't worry, things will die down in a few days."

"Fat chance," Hermione said, looking dismayed. Everyone seemed to be talking about "Granger and Malfoy's lovefest back in the train". She rolled her eyes and put her head in her hands and sighed. Lavender and Parvati's giggling didn't seem to help at all.

"Look on the bright side, Hermione," Parvati said, looking up from her mirror she was using to apply some lip gloss with. "You're now the supposed-girlfriend of the Sex God of the Universe and beyond."

"Shove it, Parvati, this isn't the right time," Ginny said giving her a fierce look and patting Hermione sympathetically on the back.

"I wonder where the first-years are," Harry said. "I really want them to get on with the Sorting so we can have our food!"

As he said this, they all looked towards the table on the platform where the teachers normally sat. They were all there in their usual spots... Harry counted all the teachers' names off in his mind. _Sinistra, Flitwick, Binns, Sprout, Trelawney, Snape, McGonagall..._ The only ones who were not there were Hagrid, who was obviously with the first-years--wherever they were--and Dumbledore. Where was Dumbledore? He was usually there scanning the hall and observing all the students. The other professors also seemed to notice he was not there, and were discussing it among each other quietly, leaning heads together whispering looking up every now and then.

Just then the door to the Great Hall burst opened as a girl screamed at the top of her lungs, running inside.

* * *

**A/N: Ack, another cliffy, I know! But that's what makes you want more, right? wink And I've got lots more where that came from.**

Thank-yous:

**PinkKangaroo** (glad to know you liked the cliffhanger), **the counter** (um...wtf? that's all I gotta say! I think my fic is very much worth reading, just stick around and you'll see!), **Carrie** (hopefully you liked this chapter too)


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